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THE WORD ABIDETH =>; 


BY / 
vA 
THE Rev. THOMAS TRACY WALSH 


AvutTHor oF “Facts AND PRINCIPLES,” ETC, 


With an Introduction by 


Tue Rt. Rev. WILLIAM T. MANNING, D.D. 
Bishop of New York 


LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. 


55 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 


39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C. 4 
TORONTO, BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS 


1926 


CopyRicHT, 1926 
BY 
LONGMANS, GREEN & CO, 


MADE IN THE UNITED STATES 


INTRODUCTION 


HERE has been recently much 

discussion about the Bible. ‘The 
minds of many are confused by these 
controversies. Some are inclining to- 
wards a rigid literalism which leaves 
no place for reason in the considera- 
tion of the sacred books. Others are 
being led to suppose that the author- 
ity of the Bible, and of the revelation 
which it brings to us, have been in 
some degree weakened by the results 
of what is known as the Higher Crit- 
icism. 

This little book brings a helpful 
and reassuring message to those who 
are thus troubled and uncertain. In 
clear and simple language it shows 
that in the full light of modern 


Lv] 


INTRODUCTION 


knowledge the spiritual message of 
the Bible and the Divine Revelation 
which it contains, stand clearer and 
more real to us than ever before. We 
need have no fear that scholarly in- 
vestigation will destroy or weaken the 
authority of this Book. 

The true test of the Bible lies in 
its reverent and faithful use, and in 
sincere effort to follow its teachings. 
Whoever reads the Bible in this spirit 
will find that it speaks to him with a 
moral power, a spiritual authority, a 
Divine message which his soul recog- 
nizes as from God Himself. If the 
teachings of the Bible were followed, 
misery and selfishness and injustice 
would vanish from the earth. Wars 
would cease. Righteousness and 
brotherhood and peace would reign. 
The Kingdom of Heaven would come 
among us. 


[vi] 


INTRODUCTION 


Apart from all theories as to the 
manner of its inspiration, these facts 
proclaim it to be the Book of God. 


WILLIAM T. MANNING, 
Bishop of New York. 


[vii | 


COMMENDATIONS 


Mr. Walsh sends out a volume 
which should be a messenger of com- 
fort and hope to all who read it. It 
deals with the real authority of the 
Bible in life and in the formation of 
true character in men and women. 

I feel sure that its best effect will be 
to reintroduce the Holy Scriptures 
into many hearts and homes and there 
let them speak for themselves. 

I warmly commend the book for its 
laudable purpose and trust it will have 
a wide circulation among all those who 
love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity 
and truth. 


S. PARKES CADMAN, D.D. 


President, Federal Council, 
Churches of Christ in America. 


[ viii | 


COMMENDATIONS 


The author of THE WorbD ABIDETH 
has given us the well accredited assur- 
ance of the “impregnable rock” of the 
saving truth of the enduring Book in 
the face of all modern research, of all 
criticism, high and low, of all light of 
scientific investigation and discovery. 

He sets forth some of the claims and 
results of the modern criticism with 
clearness and calmness, but with 
“rooted judgment” of the believer 
grounded in the faith. He has no fear 
of the truth. He would not say that 
the last word of the newer revealments, 
which he modestly accepts and which 
some of his readers may question, has 
been spoken. He would readily admit 
with Bishop Butler that “the Bible 
contains many truths yet undiscov- 


ered.” 
JOHN W. HAMILTON, D.D., 


Bishop and Chancellor Emeritus, 
American University, Washington, D. C. 


[ix] 


COMMENDATIONS 


The author of this most interesting 
and helpful book has made a valuable 
contribution to the right understand- 
ing and interpretation of the Holy 
Bible. While the book is entirely 
sound and orthodox from beginning 
to end, the writer has successfully cor- 
rected many popular mistakes which 
have become more or less current in 
these recent years of doubt and con- 
fusion. 

In addition to what he has said about 
the effect of new learning in giving us 
an increased confidence in the truth of 
the Bible, Mr. Walsh has given a 
brief treatise on the interpretation of 
the Bible which adds greatly to the 
value of his book. He reminds us in 
a striking and convincing way that the 
relation of the Church to the Bible, 
when properly understood, throws 


[x] 


COMMENDATIONS 


much light upon the interpretation or 
meaning of the Bible itself. 

We can well be grateful to our au- 
thor therefore, for his valuable sup- 
plement on interpretation. 


ETHELBERT TALBOT, D.D., 


Formerly Presiding Bishop, 
Protestant Episcopal Church in America. 


[xi] 





THE WORD ABIDETH 


I 


““y AM so much perplexed by pres- 
ent controversies about the Bible, 
Science, and the fundamentals of re- 
ligion, that I know not what to believe 
nor where to look for guidance and 
final authority in such matters.” 
These words of one Christian lay- 
man express the sentiments of thou- 
sands. ‘The Bible, the Church and 
reason have been named as sources of 
authority that have been provided to 
Christians for their religious guidance 
and in a large sense they are such. 
Many would choose one of these 
sources as infallible and others find 
safety in a combination of the three. 
However, it is claimed that each of 
these three is limited by the natural 


[x] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


frailties of humanity and their abso- 
lute infallibility is questioned by many. 
The Word of God is infallible, but 
are all of the channels of its revela- 
tion inerrant? 

Whether rightly or not, it is a fact 
that a large number of Christians look 
not to the Church or to reason for 
authority in religion, but to the Bible 
alone. In this Book we have a record 
of the progressive manner in which 
God’s Word for man was revealed 
through the Holy Spirit, culminating 
in the final revelation of the Word in 
Christ. The Bible contains and in a 
sense, 7s the Word of God, but it comes 
to us through human limitations. It 
is the discussion of these limitations 
that is a cause of anxiety to many ear- 
nest Christians; they feel that God’s 
Word is being assailed and discred- 
ited by critics and scientists. The ap- 


[2] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


plication of modern scientific meth- 
ods to the study of the Bible has re- 
sulted in a point of view that is re- 
garded by many pious people as 
dangerous to faith and destructive of 
Biblical authority. The situation is 
one that should be met with sympathy 
and a real desire to help. 

It is a very serious matter to have 
one’s religious faith unsettled even 
when such faith has been misapplied, 
for reconstruction is sometimes a more 
dificult process than destruction. 
Therefore when a new foundation or 
basis of faith is presented, it should 
be not only reasonable but of assured 
soundness. Those who have been ex- 
treme and uncompromising in their 
religious opinions are prone to re-act 
beyond moderation when they become 
convinced that their former beliefs 
were not altogether well founded. 


[3] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


There are Christians familiar with 
only one form of religion and a 
Church considered to be infallible. 
Therefore when one of these re- 
nounces his old faith, there may come 
the impulse to repudiate all relig- 
ious faith and be an agnostic or worse. 
Some extreme Protestants who have 
regarded the Bible with a feeling of 
awe and believed it to be infallible 
in every respect, meet with a similar 
experience. Having accepted scien- 
tific theories which seem to conflict 
with Biblical statements, there is an 
inclination to disregard reason and re- 
ject all belief in a divinely revealed 
religion. A great deal may be said for 
the maxim that truthis generally found 
in a safe position between extremes. 
As a boy I did not accept liter- 
ally the Genesis stories of the Crea- 
tion, Fall and Flood; I did not be- 
[4] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


lieve that Balaam’s ass spoke or that 
Jonah lived for three days in the belly 
of a whale. Yet when I entered a 
theological seminary as student and 
found that some of the Professors ac- 
cepted the general results of what is 
known as Higher criticism of the 
Bible, there was indignation and per- 
plexity within me. Under their in- 
struction from the new point of view, 
the value of this precious Book was 
increased as a reliable guide in the 
sphere of religious truth. Because of 
the prevalent religious controversies 
and the atmosphere of general dis- 
trust, it may be well to state that the 
minimum of my religious beliefs is 
contained in the Apostles’ Creed ac- 
cepted without any interpretations 
which deny the facts of Christ’s Deity, 
His Virgin Birth and actual Resur- 
rection in a spiritual body. 


[5] 


II 


NE who does not endorse all of 
the conclusions of the critics may 
be tolerant enough to recognize the 
value of modern methods of Bible 
study. He may also feel that the pres- 
ent anxiety concerning them is unwar- 
ranted and endeavor to show that such 
methods of study have not detracted 
from the permanent value of the Bible 
as a vehicle of the inspired Word of 
God. 

Biblical scholars have not ques- 
tioned or assailed the Word of God, 
rather their work has been confined 
to a study of the Book which records 
the manner of its revelation. It is 
unfortunate that the word “criticism” 
was ever used with reference to the 
study of the Bible. ‘To the average 

[6] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


mind, it suggests picking flaws and 
fault-finding, but such was not the 
original meaning of the term and the 
prejudice against it is groundless. It 
does not imply an hostile or irreverent 
attitude toward the Bible. While 
there are some radicals, it may be 
safely asserted that the majority of 
American and British critics are con- 
secrated, loyal men of God, believing 
in miracles and not rejecting the sto- 
ries of the Virgin Birth of Christ. 
Biblical criticism is defined as “the 
application of scientific methods to the 
textual and literary study of the 
Bible.” Higher criticism pertains to 
the literary and Lower criticism to 
the textual study of the books of the 
Bible. It should here be stated that 
questions of date and authorship do 
not perforce involve the inspiration 
and credibility of a Biblical writer. 


[7] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


In his Outline of Christian Theol- 
ogy, p. 26, Dr. W. N. Clarke of Col- 
gate University takes the position that 
“On all questions of date and author- 
ship, critical inquiry has full rights. 
. .. If such investigation can legiti- 
mately destroy our confidence in the 
Bible, our confidence should by all 
means be destroyed. A rational faith 
will not shrink from investigation and 
Christians have no cause to fear it, 
for the Scriptures will bear examina- 
tion...) 2, “Tovrepress) ceiticismivisems 
invite unbelief.” 

There are orthodox Churches which 
have never officially endorsed any one 
position as to the origin and inspira- 
tion of the books of the Bible. Their 
clergy are required to be “persuaded 
that the Holy Scriptures contain all 
doctrine required as necessary for 
eternal salvation through faith in 


[8] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


Jesus Christ.” All members are free 
to have beliefs upon such subjects as 
the origin and inspiration of the Bible 
and its relation to science. 
Whatever may have been the atti- 
tude of the early Reformers toward 
the Bible there are thousands of 
Christians today who, rejecting the 
authority of an “infallible Church,” 
accept as a substitute an “infallible 
Book.” Opinions and _ theories, 
whether literary or scientific, which 
conflict with Biblical statements upon 
any subject, are regarded as contra- 
dictions of God’s Word. It has been 
asserted that if modern critical views 
of the Bible become generally ac- 
cepted, the foundations of Protestant- 
ism will inevitably be destroyed. 
Many are perplexed and antagonized 
by Bible criticism and the much de- 
bated theory of man’s creation through 


[9] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


process of evolution from lower ant- 
mals for the reason that they have 
committed themselves to a belief in 
the literal and verbal inspiration of 
the Bible “from cover to cover.” 

Such a view of inspiration leads to 
complications and controversies. It is 
not only unsafe, but it is not neces- 
sary for belief in what the Bible is 
really intended to teach. It is also 
unwarranted by the official formu- 
laries and documents of some of the 
leading Christian denominations. 
Many of the prominent exponents of 
modern Biblical criticism are found 
in the ministry of these churches and 
they are men whose godliness and 
good standing are unchallenged. 

It must be admitted, however, that 
in some of these denominations a very 
large number of the clergy and laity 
believe in the verbal inspiration and 


[10] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


inerrancy of the Scriptures in all 
points, and are very militant on this 
subject. I have the name of a min- 
ister in a Southern state who with- 
drew his children from the Public 
school because the Geographies used 
taught contrary to the Bible concern- 
ing the shape of the earth and the 
motion of the sun. It is said that in 
a city of the Middle West, where a 
single sect is in control, the Geogra- 
phies must teach that the earth is flat 
and the sun moves back and forth in 
the skies. There are a few who be- 
lieve that the English of the King 
James version of the Bible is the in- 
spired original. One layman has as- 
serted in protest against the Revised 
version, that St. Paul’s English is 
good enough for him. 

While we look upon the King 
James version as a masterpiece and 


[ir] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


model of beautiful English, scholars 
claim that in it are several hundred 
ambiguous or obsolete words. No 
translation of the Scriptures is abso- 
lutely perfect because the meaning of 
some words and sentences in the orig- 
inal is unintelligible. And while the 
King James version is by no means to 
be discarded, the student without a 
modern translation such as the Re- 
vised version, is at a disadvantage. 

With regard to inspiration, it is 
safest and wisest to believe that the 
Holy Scriptures contain the inspired 
Word of God and all things neces- 
sary for belief to salvation, without 
any fixed theory as to the mode of 
inspiration. 

Dr. T. M. Lindsay of the United 
Free Church of Scotland, in his His- 
tory of the Reformation, Vol. I, p. 
264, says: “the authoritative character 


[12] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


and infallibility belong really and pri- 
marily to the word of God, and only 
secondarily to the Scripture,—to the 
Scripture only because it is the rec- 
ord which contains, presents or con- 
veys the word of God. It is this 
word of God, this personal manifesta- 
tion to us for our salvation, of God 
in His promises, which is authorita- 
tive and infallible; and the Scripture 
shares these attributes only so far as 
it is a vehicle of spiritual truth.” 


[13] 


III 


HE critical study of the Bible in 
some form has been in progress 
from early ages of Christian history 
and it has been deemed necessary for 
any real advancement in Bible study. 
What is called modern criticism is not 
a mere search for flaws and errors, 
but it involves a careful study of the 
Bible in every aspect of its literature, 
such as thought, language, style, his- 
tory dates, numbers, environment, al- 
lusions, origins and modes of life. 
Destructive critics are in the minor- 
ity and as a whole critical study has 
proved to be help instead of a men- 
ace. By use of it we learn that many 
of the books of the Bible are com- 
posite or anonymous compilations of 


[14] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


Writings copied thousands of times by 
various hands during many centuries. 
We learn also that it was the custom 
of the Scribes and others to write 
comments or explanations on the mar- 
gins of the sheets. These are called 
glosses, and during the ages, many of 
then crept “into; the) sacred “text 
through the carelessness of copyists. 

While history among all primitive 
peoples was in the form of ballads 
and folklore, the Hebrew and kindred 
races excelled in the art of telling 
stories. They had little conception of 
history as such or the property rights 
of authors, and they frequently placed 
the productions of several persons in 
one book under the name of one noted 
person. 

it coulds not. be » expected _ that 
Higher critics would be absolutely 
unanimous in their conclusions, but so 


[15] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


far as I have been able to ascertain 
all are in practical agreement in the 
opinions briefly outlined below: 

“Although the art of writing was 
known five thousand years before 
Christ, the Book of Genesis as we 
now have it, was compiled at a late 
period, much of it, during the Exile. 
The stories of the Creation and Flood 
were common to Semitic races far 
more ancient than the Hebrew branch, 
but were purified by Jewish writers of 
their grossness and polytheism, yet 
made to illustrate the ideas of primi- 
tive man concerning God and nature. 
The story of the Fall of man is as 
much a parable as that of the Prodi- 
gal Son and symbolizes the awaken- 
ing of the individual and the race to 
a consciousness of sin. 

While these stories are not strictly 
historical, they teach divine truth and 


[16] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


impart great moral lessons to all who 
read them. The Ten Commandments 
or Words were originally in the form 
of short sentences easy to remember, 
such as “Thou shalt not take the name 
of the Lord thy God in vain,” “Re- 
member the Sabbath Day to keep 
it holy,’ and the remaining por- 
tions were explanations subsequently 
added. 

Although some portions may be of 
Mosaic origin the first five books of 
the Bible are not exclusively compo- 
sitions of Moses, but are of various 
dates and origins. Much of the two 
books of Chronicles is of very late 
composition and of doubtful value as 
history. Only a small portion of the 
Psalms were written by David and 
many of them originated during and 
attersthe -iixile, 

The book called Isaiah is compos- 

[17] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


ite, and the latter portion beginning 
at Chapter XL, while wonderfully in- 
spired, is the utterance of a prophet 
later than Isaiah. The book bearing 
the name of Daniel was written about 
four hundred years after the period 
assigned to Daniel’s captivity. The 
book of Job is a dramatic allegory in 
defence of God’s attitude toward hu- 
man suffering, and the book of Jonah 
is a missionary parable in rebuke of 
Jewish exclusiveness. 

It may be noted here not as matter 
of criticism but a fact of history, that 
it was as late as the year go of the 
Christian era when the Jews in Coun- 
cil at Jamnia decided to exclude the 
books of Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus 
from the Old Testament and admit 
Canticles and Esther. Also, that the 
final catalogue of the books of the 
New Testament as we now have them, 


[18] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


was not completed until near the close 
of the fourth century. 

From the earliest centuries of 
Christianity, there has been uncer- 
tainty about the authorship of He- 
brews, 2d Peter, Jude and Revela- 
tion, and the identity of John the 
Apostle with John the Elder is still 
a matter of question. St. Luke’s au- 
thorship of the Acts and the authen- 
ticity of the Epistles attributed to St. 
Paul are generally admitted, although 
the Epistles to Timothy and Titus 
may be of composite authorship. 

Concerning the Gospels, it is be- 
lieved that while St. Mark’s in its 
present form is the oldest, it, together 
with St. Matthew and St. Luke, is 
based upon former writings which 
have disappeared. While the author- 
ship of the Fourth Gospel continues 
to be a matter of disagreement, many 


[19] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


of the best scholars adhere to the 
tradition that its source is St. John 
or one of his disciples. 

It would require a volume of sev- 
eral hundred pages to present all of 
the deductions from a critical study 
of the sixty-six books of the Bible, 
but the above is sufficient for our 
information. While one may not feel 
prepared to endorse unreservedly all 
of these conclusions of the critics, 
there is nothing in them to warrant 
the anxiety and indignation that are 
being shown by many pious people. 
Any orthodox Christian could accept 
all of them with no weakening of his 
belief in the Bible as containing the 
inspired Word or Revelation of God 
to man and his infallible standard for 
faith and religious life. ‘This is the 
real ground for the existence of this 
sacred Book. 


[20] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


Just and reverent critical study has 
not weakened the spiritual influence 
and authority of the Bible, rather its 
position has been more strongly em- 
phasized and established as our divine 
text-book in matters of religion. 
Canon Driver, a devout scholar, has 
said: “Criticism presupposes inspira- 
tion. . . . It seeks to determine the 
conditions under which it operates 
and the literary forms through which 
it manifests itself and thus it helps 
to frame a true conception of the 
methods which it has pleased God 
to employ in revealing Himself to 
His ancient people of Israel and in 
preparing the way for fuller manifes- 
tation of Himself in Christ Jesus.” 


[21] 


IV 


ELIEF in inspiration does not 

imply the absolute inspiration 
and accuracy of every statement found 
in the Bible. St. Paul teaches us in 
his First Epistle to the Corinthians 
that all of the words of an inspired 
writer may not be inspired. We are 
not required to accept as the Word of 
God all of the salutations, the do- 
mestic and business directions at the 
close of his Epistles. We are not 
bound to believe that the earth is flat, 
having four corners, that heaven has 
streets paved with gold, neither could 
we place the genealogies in the Gos- 
pels on a par with the words of our 
Lord Himself. In fact it is hazard- 
ous to tie ourselves down to an ex- 
clusive theory of inspiration. 


[22] 


CHE WORD ABIDETH 


We are taught that the Holy Ghost 
spoke by the Prophets, but does this 
mean certain men or the writings at- 
tributed to theme It would seem 
wiser to believe in the inspiration of 
persons rather than books. Whether 
Moses, David or Isaiah wrote all that 
has been ascribed to them, we can 
believe in the inspiration of Moses 
the Law-giver, David the Psalmist 
and Isaiah the Prophet. Critics are 
unanimous that inspiration reaches its 
highest point in the Psalmists and 
Prophets. 

The canonization of the Scriptures 
by the Jewish and Christian Churches 
should not be confused with the ques- 
tion of the inspiration of the writers. 
The basic truths of our religion are 
not entirely dependent upon what is 
called inspiration. I believe in the 
inspiration of the writers of the four 


[23] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


Gospels, but it would not be necessary 
for me to believe in their special in- 
spiration if I were assured of their 
honesty, intelligence and reliability as 
witnesses of what they had seen and 
heard and that we have a correct rec- 
ord of their writings. 

There is a difference between in- 
spiration and revelation. A person 
might be a medium of revelation and 
lack inspiration, or inspired without 
being a channel of revelation. As Dr. 
Fairbairn says: ‘Authority belongs to 
the Bible not as book but as a reve- 
lation, not because it has been canon- 
ized (by the Church) but because it 
contains the history of our Redeemer 
and our redemption. . . . Revelation 
is thus as to its accidents, a literary 
question, but as to its essence, a spir- 
itual experience.” 

The effect of God’s Spirit is not 

[24] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


always of the same order, it deals 
more with ideas than with words. 
The Bible shows not a single revela- 
tion, but in various stages, in divers 
times and portions as men were able 
to receive it. When the human race 
was in its childhood spiritually, intel- 
lectually, and in morals, God spoke 
in ideas and terms suitable to primi- 
tive man. Man also spoke of God 
and represented Him from a very hu- 
man and primitive point of view, at- 
tributing to Him many of the char- 
acteristics, actions and passions of 
men. ‘They spoke of God’s face, eyes, 
nostrils, hands, arms and feet. Fuiend- 
ish cruelties committed by men were 
ascribed to the command of God. 

If in the Bible God is represented 
by qualities and actions that are re- 
pellent to the highest instincts of hu- 
manity and directly contrary to the 


[25] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


Gospel as proclaimed by Christ, such 
statements do not require labored ef- 
forts in explanation, but should be 
accepted as reflections of the igno- 
rance and barbarity of the times. 
They are not in any sense divinely 
inspired models of theology or morals 
for Christian people. 

While all of the laws and regula- 
tions of the Old Testament are not 
binding upon us as criterions of mor- 
als for this age, they were the best 
for the ancient people and prepared 
the way for the moral standards of 
Christianity. Although the people of 
ancient times were crude in their no- 
tions of God, of morals and of life, 
the Word of God was not to be 
hindered in reaching men in such 
ways as they were able to receive, 
assimilate and make it known unto 
others. Indeed this was the method 


[26] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


employed by God the Son when on 
earth He came to complete the reve- 
lation of the Word to man. 

For the most part ancient history 
was poetry and folk lore while mod- 
ern history is prose and the result of 
scholarly research. A large portion 
of the Old Testament is poetry. When 
we read that the sun and moon stood 
still, the stars came down and fought 
against Sisera, the hills skipped like 
lambs, the trees sang and clapped their 
hands, we are reading pure poetry. 

The Bible is not supposed to teach 
history or medicine as abstract sci- 
ences; it does not contain a complete 
cosmology of the universe, it is not 
our text-book on Antropology, Biol- 
ogy, Geography or Geology. If God’s 
revelation had come to the ancient 
Hebrews in terms and ideas foreign 
to their own age they would never 


[27] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


have been able to receive or apply it. 
Four thousand years hence our de- 
scendants may marvel at the crude- 
ness of the twentieth century. 

If it be admitted that the Bible 
contains allegory, poetry and legend 
which have little historical basis, how 
is the reader to distinguish truth from 
fiction or identify God’s revelation of 
truthe To this question the reply is 
that in both the Old and New Testa- 
ments from Genesis to Revelation, an 
allegory or anecdote, a poem or a 
parable is the Word of God so far 
as it conveys a true lesson in faith, 
morals or any right phase of religion 
and life, while the events and per- 
sons named may be fictitious. 

Bishop Chares Gore, one of the 
great scholars of this age, and a bul- 
wark of orthodoxy in the Church of 
England, writes: ‘““We must start from 


[28] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


the solid historical ground of the 
written prophets. We must re-assure 
ourselves on this solid ground of the 
reality of God’s Self revelation. Then 
we shall find ourselves believers of a 
surety that God did ‘in many parts 
and many manners speak in old times 
unto the fathers by the prophets.’ .. . 
The Spirit Who is really God, spake 
Peete wprophets. 00.4) Lhat) is ithe 
essential thing. Then We shall rec- 
ognize how the prophetic spirit grad- 
ually purged and re-interpreted the 
folk-lore and traditions of Israel to 
express moral and religious truth in- 
stead of empty falsehood, and how 
there were different grades and kinds 
of inspiration in psalmists and wise 
men and codifiers of the law and com- 
pilers of stories for moral edification, 
all in different degrees inspired by 
the divine Spirit. So viewed, the Old 
[29] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


Testament becomes not only more in- 
teresting, but also holds its unique 
spiritual value not in opposition to 
but in harmony with historical criti- 


cism.” 


[30] 


V. 


NE of the most serious griev- 

ances against Biblical critics is 
that “they have weakened belief in 
the miraculous elements of the Old 
Testament.” Considered as such, mir- 
acles in the Old Testament are not 
discredited by critics. Provided they 
have an historical background as 
strong as the miracles of Jesus, they 
are admitted. It is claimed, however, 
that some of these will not stand the 
tests of history, good morals or pure 
religion. ‘The character of the litera- 
ture which records them is also to be 
considered; much of it is rated as 
folk-lore in the form of anecdotes, 
poetry and quotations from documents 
of obscure origin such as the book 
of Jasher. But such conditions do not 


[31] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


apply to all of these narratives nor 
detract from the truly religious les- 
sons taught by many of these stories. 
Jesus invented stories to convey moral 
and religious truths. 

A true interpretation of the history 
of the Jews warrants our belief in 
the need of a divine intervention in 
many crises of their national life. 
Critics assure us that they have not 
rejected the miraculous or the super- 
natural from the Old ‘Testament, that 
they have not questioned any portion 
of the Bible that is of real and per- 
manent value to the Christian believer 
in the Word of God. 

The fact that Jesus spoke of the 
Law as written by Moses and the 
Psalms by David, and that He refers 
to the Flood, Daniel and Jonah, has 
been used by some as a conclusive 
argument against the opinions of crit- 


[32] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


ics as to the authorships, chronology 
and narratives of the Old Testament. 
To this argument the general reply 
of modern Bible students is that our 
Lord’s references in these cases do not 
involve any teaching upon literary or 
scientific questions. 

Prof. H. R. McIntosh of Edin- 
burgh, in his volume on “The Person 
Brainrist pet 3;'sayss) “Lo anvest 
His words with legal authority in 
matters of Bible criticism and history 
is wholly misleading and irrelevant. 
The realm of scientific knowledge is 
one in which He became like unto 
his brethren.” As in the Old Testa- 
ment, so in the New, all divine teach- 
ing was adapted to the limitations of 
the people who received it. It would 
have been in accordance with our 
Lord’s methods of teaching had He 
used language or illustrations in line 


[33] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


with current ideas and _ traditions, 
without endorsing them as correct. 
This method is very obvious in the 
parables. The reference to Abra- 
ham’s bosom is a noteworthy example 
and is classed with the mention of 
the Flood and Jonah and the great 
fish. ‘The Jews referred to the whole 
Penteteuch as “Moses” although the 
Scriptures nowhere say that Moses 
wrote the Book of Genesis. In the 
Epistle to the Hebrews the Psalter is 
called “David.” In like manner to- 
day, we cite ““‘Webster” for the defini- 
tion of words coined long after the 
death of the compiler of Webster’s 
Dictionary. In the first century, A.D., 
‘The Prophets” was understood to in- 
clude the historical books beginning 
at Judges, and ““The Psalms” included 
several other books beside the Psalter. 
Writers of unassailable orthodoxy 


[34] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


say with reverence, that if it were 
possible that our Lord, under the limi- 
tations of His humanity, did not know 
the authorship and dates of the Old 
Testament Books, it would be in 
keeping with His own assertion that 
He did not know the time of His 
Second Coming. A discussion of the 
theological questions concerning our 
Lord’s human consciousness may not 
be desirable here, but we may be sure 
that whatever the limits to which He 
subjected Himself in order to become 
really man, they do not conflict with 
our belief in the absolute Deity of 
Christ, as God the Son, conceived by 
the Holy Ghost and born of the 
Virgin Mary. 

The question as to the infallibility 
of the Bible has a superb answer in 
Dr. Patterson Smyth’s book “How 
God Inspired the Bible”: “The Bible 

[35] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


is infallible in revealing God and 
teaching men all that is necessary for 
salvation. It is infallible in pointing 
men to Christ and leading them to 
higher and holier lives. . . . All that 
it teaches about faith in God, in 
Christ, in truth, in righteousness, in 
moral love in the wisdom of a life 
spent in the fear of God, has proved 
its absolute trustworthiness. 

Here the Bible is infallible, and let 
us remember that it is the only infal- 
libility required of it.” 

It is the conscientious conviction of 
Biblical critics that instead of being 
a source of skepticism their work has 
furnished a wealth of aids to more 
devout and intelligent Bible study: It 
has brought to bear upon the litera- 
ture of the Bible the results of re- 
search in such sciences as Archaeol- 
ogy, Astronomy, Ethnology, Geology 

[36] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


and History. The literature and rel- 
ics of other nations have been utilized 
to corroborate or explain obscure or 
inconsistent passages in both the Old 
and New Testaments. Modern criti- 
cal methods have furnished a more 
accurate mental grasp of the thought 
and life of the ancient Hebrews and 
their neighbors. They have also given 
us a better understanding of the age 
in which our Lord lived and the ex- 
ternal influences that are reflected in 
the New Testament writings. 

Critics believe that the supreme re- 
sult of their work consists in greater 
facilities of discrimination between 
the divine and human elements in the 
Bible; separating more of the pure 
gold of God’s Word from its alloys, 
thus enabling the reader to perceive 
and concentrate upon the essential 
matters of faith and spiritual life. 


[37] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


This modern attitude toward the 
Bible in its inspiration, history, and 
literature is maintained in many theo- 
logical seminaries and Bible classes. 
It is the point of view that prevails 
in some of our best colleges and uni- 
versities. There are but few Biblical 
dictionaries and commentaries issued 
during the past decade, that do not 
assume it. Notwithstanding its strong 
establishment in the realm of scholar- 
ship, there are many earnest Christ- 
ians who regarding it as a menace to 
evangelical Christianity, would firmly 
resist its advance. There are others 
who like Gamaliel of old, will not 
contend against it lest they be found 
fighting against God. 

I am neither a Fundamentalist nor 
a Modernist according to the common 
use of these terms, and I certainly do 
not endorse all of the opinions of Bib- 


[38] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


lical critics. ‘They themselves do not 
claim permanence for all of their con- 
clusions, and during the coming years 
of research, there may be changes in 
some of their positions. It is due to 
them and to the Christian masses that 
the results of their work should be- 
come more generally known, also that 
efforts should be made to re-assure 
those who feel that the Word of God 
is being discredited by critics and men 
of science. 

It should be enough for us Chris- 
tians that “every Scripture inspired 
of God is also profitable for teach- 
ing, for reproof, for correction, for 
instruction which is in righteousness.” 
These sacred documents were “writ- 
ten for our learning that we through 
patience and comfort of the Scrip- 
tures might have hope.” What mat- 
ters it then, if men in all ages have 


[39] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


differed in their ideas of Biblical liter- 
ature and life, or held various the- 
ories as to the manner in which God’s 
Word has been revealed? Whatever 
is divine will stand every test. 

In all of the writings, discussions 
and debates on this subject, it should 
be emphasized that the ultimate au- 
thority is not a book but the Word 
of God which became flesh and dwelt 
among us, as a Person. Jesus Christ 
in His nature, in all that He taught 
and did, was and ever abides as, the 
Living Word of God. 

“Flaving been begotten again, not 
of corruptible seed, but of incorrup- 
tible, through the word of God, which 
liveth and abideth. For 


All flesh is grass, 
And all the glory thereof as the 
flower of grass. 


[40] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


The grass withereth and the flower 
falleth. 
But the word of the Lord abideth 


forever. 


And this is the word of good tid- 


ings which was preached unto you.” 
(1st Peter. 1. 23-25. R. V.) 


[41] 


VI 


E are convinced that with due 
allowance made for all human 
elements in the Bible, the revelation 
of divine truth remains there in all 
of its potency. Also that in the re- 
ligious teachings of Christ the Living 
Word, we have an “infallible rule of 
faith, “and: practice.) “Yet itheregses 
mains the question of interpretation 
which has been a source of contro- 
versy and division among Christians 
for a long period. Is the average 
man or woman qualified to interpret 
the Bible according to individual 
judgment or is the Church the duly 
authorized interpreter of Holy Writ? 
For many centuries there was only 
one answer to this question, but dur- 


[42] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


ing the Reformation in the sixteenth 
century there arose the clearly drawn 
issue between Church authority and 
private judgment. Among many of 
the Continental reformers these were 
considered to be mutually antagonis- 
tic and there was little conception of 
a possible reconciliation. The right 
of private judgment was one of the 
fundamental principles of early Prot- 
estantism and it is still asserted by 
that type of Christianity which de- 
mands an open Bible with absolutely 
unrestricted freedom of interpretation 
by the individual. 

The faculty by which we judge and 
decide is an essential element of our 
personality and it is involved in the 
very process of thought. Before I 
can accept the judgment of another 
as my authority upon any subject, I 
must exercise my own faculty of judg- 

[43] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


ing his judgment. This faculty 1s 
inherent in that freedom of the will 
with which every human being is en- 
dowed. In the sphere of religion, 
this right of every man to interpret 
the Scriptures as reason and con- 
science may dictate, is considered one 
of the precious heritages of Protes- 
tantism to be kept inviolate regardless 
of cost or consequences. 

And yet it is a tragic fact of Chris- 
tian history and experience that the 
great evils of heresy and schism and 
many absurd teachings and customs 
have come from the misuse of this 
privilege. It has been said that Prot- 
estantism with its assertion of this 
right, tends toward either schism or 
rationalism. It would not be unjust 
to say that many of the sects and 
heresies now existing in the Christian 
world are traceable to assertions of 

[44] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


the right of private judgment. It 
was during the early years of the 
Reformation period that Protestants 
began to disagree concerning the in- 
terpretation of the Bible and under 
their leaders, divide into organized 
sects. Today their descendants are 
found in the more than one hundred 
religious bodies that claim a place in 
the world as Christian churches. 
There is one section of Protestant- 
ism which takes pride in the fact that 
itmnase 00: creed | but, the +) Bible.” 
Nevertheless this particular section is 
divided into twenty-three denomina- 
tions with distinctive names. The 
large outstanding Protestant denomi- 
nations, including their numerous sub- 
divisions, justify their positions in 
Christianity to a large extent by the 
Holy Scriptures. Not only in former 
ages but in these times many sects 


[45] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


have had their birth from the peculiar 
views of individuals concerning the 
teachings of the Bible. Mr. Blank 
or Mrs. Block, after diligent reading 
of the Scriptures, says: “At last! I 
have found the true doctrine and the 
true: Church: Let ‘every one) accent 
my exposition of the Bible and all of 
the problems of religion and life will 
be solved.” 

The Christian Scientists, the Mor- 
mons, the various types of Millenari- 
ans, the followers of Voliva,—all sorts 
of Christian sects prove their doc- 
trines and justify their positions by 
the Bible. While some interpretations 
are so literal as to be grotesque, others 
have pressed the figurative or ration- 
alistic methods to the extent of ex- 
plaining away the reality of any reve- 
lation from God in either the Old 
or New Testaments. The principle 

[46] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


of “the competency and freedom of 
the individual to choose for himself 
in all religious matters,” when unduly 
stressed, may lead one from Christi- 
anity into a society of ethical culture 
which could include Buddhists, Jews 
and Agnostics. ‘The use of modern 
critical methods of Bible study has 
proved to be a most valuable aid to 
sound interpretation or exegesis but 
like many other good things, even this 
may be carried to a dangerous ex- 
treme. 


[47] 


Vil 


Ngan ca that many of the 
divisions and other evils that af- 
flict Christianity are due to a wrong 
use of the Bible by individuals and 
their followers, there yet remain the 
questions of the authority of the 
Church and of which branch of the 
Church. As now existing, the Church 
is composed of branches or sects each 
claiming to be justified in their posi- 
tions of separation. In some of these 
branches it is claimed that the Church 
is not only best qualified but duly au- 
thorized to interpret the Scriptures, 
especially in matters of doctrine, dis- 
cipline and worship. If the Church 
was founded by Christ it is a divine 
institution or organism, possessing au- 


[48] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


thority in questions of religion and 
morals. 

But does this authority extend to 
the right of the interpretation of the 
Scriptures for the religious guidance 
of its members? ‘The Jewish and 
Christian Churches produced the 
Bible, and the Christian Church was 
organized and at work for a genera- 
tion before any of the present New 
Testament was written. Whether of- 
ficially or not, the Church as “the 
Witness and Keeper of Holy Writ,” 
decided which are the canonical books 
of the New Testament. The Word 
of God came before the Church, and 
therefore it is not as a revelation but 
as a book that the Bible is dependent 
upon the decision of the Church as to 
its contents. The Church is not 
founded upon the New ‘Testament, 
but upon the Person of Jesus Christ, 


[49] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


the Living Word of God, yet all of 
our knowledge concerning our Sav- 
iour’s life, teaching and redemptive 
work, comes from the New Testa- 
ment. ‘Those who lived nearest to the 
time of the writers of the New Testa- 
ment and certify as to the genuineness 
of the books should be well qualified 
to testify as to the teachings of those 
books, and the Church in her Coun- 
cils has ratified the opinions of these 
early Christian Fathers. 

There can be no translation of the 
Bible without an interpretation of the 
original and the individual who ap- 
proves of a particular version is ac- 
cepting someone’s interpretation of 
the Scriptures. It is generally admit- 
ted that the Apostle’s Creed adopted 
by the Church is based upon Bible 
teachings, therefore, every subscrip- 
tion to this Creed is an acceptance of 


[50] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


the authority of the Church to make 
its own interpretation of the Scrip- 
tures and set it forth in a Creed. 
Any person who approves of a set 
Articles of Religion, a Confession of 
Faith or a Book of Discipline, thereby 
admits the authority of an organized 
body called the Church, to interpret 
the Scriptures for its members. 

Dr. C. A. Briggs, in his ‘“Theologi- 
cal Symbolics,” p. 268, says: “The 
Protestant principle that the Scripture 
was its own interpreter, and that 
doubtful passages were to be inter- 
. preted in accordance with those that 
were not doubtful is most excellent. 
But who shall decide as to these pas- 
sages? In fact both Protestants and 
Roman Catholics are right; and their 
principles are complementary and not 
exclusive. We must recognize that, 
while Scripture ordinarily interprets 


[51] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


itself to the right minded, yet this is 
not always the case; and that the final 
judgment is with the Church, and not 
with the individual provided the 
Church does not decide against the 
truth and righteousness.” Although 
Dr. Briggs does not explain what he 
means by “the Church” in the sen- 
tence above, it is certain that he does 
not refer to the Roman Church. 
There is no necessary conflict be- 
tween Church authority and individ- 
ual judgment provided neither is 
stressed beyond reasonable limits. The 
present tendency is to supplement the 
authority of the Bible and the Church — 
with that of reason, which both 
Roman Catholics and ultra-Protestants 
ignored in the sixteenth century. One 
exaggerated Church authority while 
the other almost obliterated it. The 
Protestant extremist, accepting the 


[52] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


Bible to the exclusion of reason, de- 
velops into a fanatic, while the Roman 
Catholic, stressing Church authority 
beyond reasonable bounds is in danger 
of bigotry. Not rationalism but rea- 
son will have a large share in the 
solution of the religious problems of 
the present generation. 


[53] 


Vill 


LTHOUGH | > the.) /.Chrrstigg 
Church produced the New Tes- 
tament, this group of writings testifies 
as to the history, doctrine, discipline, 
worship, and government of the Apos- 
tolic Church. As the Bible, espe- 
cially the New Testament, contains 
our standard of religion and right liv- 
ing, there are many who believe that 
the Church is God’s ordained teacher, 
in these things using the Bible as her 
Divinely inspired text-book. 

So long as Christianity is divided 
into many denominations there will 
be confusion as to what is meant by 
“the Church.” ‘The term is used with 
reference to a denomination and also 
to describe Christianity in general. 


[54] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


Each of the one hundred denomina- 
tions bases its doctrine upon its own 
interpretation of the Scriptures and 
expects its members to submit to the 
teachings: of <‘the) Church.) «It “is 
obvious that until organic Church 
unity is accomplished, there can be 
no authorized interpretation of the 
Bible other than that of some branch 
or sect, and each individual must look 
to his own denomination for guidance 
in doctrine and religious life. Or if 
the dogma proved from Scripture by 
his denomination is against his consci- 
entious convictions, he may seek mem- 
bership in one more to his liking. 
Against this advice is the objection 
that it encourages sectarianism; view- 
ing the question from any position, we 
are made painfully conscious of the 
tragedy of a divided Christendom and 
the urgent need of something better. 


[55] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


The ancient and undivided Church 
of God, accepting the consensus of 
opinion and usage, decided which 
were the canonical books of the Bible, 
and today, a united, uncorrupted and 
comprehensive Church would afford 
the only solution to the vexed prob- 
lem of interpretation. That united 
Church would not accept the individ- 
ual opinions of the early Fathers, nor 
of Augustine, Wycliffe, Luther, Cal- 
vin, Arminius, Cranmer, Wesley, nor 
any pope. It would take the con- 
sensus of opinions and the organic 
reason of the Church in all ages, in- 
cluding the present, guided by the 
Holy Spirit. That Church would 
not presume to claim itself as the 
only channel of divine grace or truth, 
for “the Spirit moveth where He 
listeth.” It would rejoice in His 
workings among those who refuse to 


[56] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


submit to its teachings, yet seeking in 
unity to proclaim the whole Gospel 
of Him who is the Living Word of 
God. 

Waiting for this united Church to 
be restored to Christendom, each one 
should devoutly read his Bible trying 
as best he can to understand what he 
reads. And as the Ethiopian official 
sought guidance from St. Philip, a 
duly ordained minister of the Church, 
so should each look for religious in- 
struction and doctrine to what he con- 
ceives to be “the Church.” 

While conceding the authority of 
the Church to teach dogma, it would 
be almost insane to suggest that a 
Christian in this age has no right to 
read his Bible and use his God-given 
reason to understand it. Any denomi- 
nation, at least a Protestant one, that 
attempted such restriction would ex- 


[57] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


perience a convulsion. In zd Peter, 
I. 20-21, it is said that “no prophecy 
of Scripture is of private (special) 
interpretation, for no prophecy ever 
came by the will of man, but men 
spake from God, being moved by the 
Holy Spirit.” The same Spirit who 
inspired the sacred writer must in- 
spire and guide the reader. As a 
poetic mind is required to understand 
and appreciate poetry, so is the spir- 
itual attitude necessary for the best 
results in reading God’s Message to 
man. 

Whatever may have been the orig- 
inal meaning of this passage in 2d 
Peter, we may infer from it that in 
order to interpret with a measure of 
correctness there must be some prepa- 
ration and equipment. The judg- 
ment, like the conscience, needs to be 
enlightened and trained. And there 


[58] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


should be such qualifications as piety, 
faith, humility, wisdom and a fair 
amount of education, lest being “‘igno- 
rant and unsteadfast, we wrest the 
Scriptures to our own destruction,” 
being led by fanciful interpretations 
into strange doctrines and practices. 
The Bible student of this generation 
has at hand the results of the best 
scholarship of all denominations, set 
forth in Commentaries, Bible Diction- 
aries, etc., and while remaining loyal 
to the doctrinal teachings of his own 
denomination, he may gain from such 
aids a wealth of valuable information 
in other fields of Bible study. 
Volumes have been written concern- 
ing methods of interpretation and the 
devotional study of the Bible. With 
this fact in mind, I have ventured to 
present another phase of the subject, 
the importance of which has not been 


[59] 


THE WORD ABIDETH 


sufliciently realized by Protestants, 
namely the authority and part of the 
Church. God’s Word is so simple 
that a child may gain some insight of 
its meaning, yet the Bible which re- 
cords it contains passages so deep that 
all the learning of all the ages has 
not been able to fathom them. Let 
every man read and study this Great- 
est Book in the World with prayer 
that the Holy Spirit may direct the 
reason, open the heart and make clear 
the understanding, yet always relying 
for general guidance upon the col- 
lective judgment of that organization 
which to him is the Church of God. 


[60] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Dummelow, John Roberts, Ed. 
Commentary on the Holy Bible, by Various 
Writers. (Macmillan) 


Fowler, H. T. 
History of the Literature of Ancient Israel. (Mac- 
millan) 


Hastings, Rev. James 
Dictionary of the Bible. (Scribner) 


Mercer, Samuel Alfred Browne 
Life and Growth of Israel. (Morehouse) 


Nairne, Rev. Alexander 
Every Man’s Story of the Old Testament. (More- 
house) 


New Standard Bible Dictionary. (Funk & Wagnalls) 


Peake, Arthur Samuel 
Commentary on the Bible. (Nelson) 


Smythe, John Paterson 
How God Inspired the Bible. (Pott) 


Smythe, John Paterson 
The Bible in the Making. (Pott) 


[61] 





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